Stephen Kenny insists he is still the right man to lead Ireland forward.
And he has vowed to inject fresh thinking into his attack against Scotland today to get results back on track.
Kenny is under mounting pressure after dismal defeats to Armenia and Ukraine.
And a third in a week could spark calls for his head, but Kenny believes he will turn the tide.
“Absolutely, I do yeah. Without a shadow of a doubt,” he said last night. “I’ve just signed a new contract and I'm committed here until after the Euros.
“I've learned a lot, yeah, I have. But I think we've got an awful lot of potential in this squad and we’re looking to grow and get better and improve.
“I don’t feel pressure, only internal - because I’m disappointed we’ve not got points on the board - and professional pride.
“We've lost two very, very narrow games that we’re disappointed to lose but we’re fully focused on the game today.”
Kenny - seeking a first competitive home win today - continued: “We had a situation where we had one defeat in 12 up to last weekend.
“We had a good run where from March to March we scored 23 goals, which is a really high amount for an international team.
“We've come up short in front of goal in the last two games. It doesn’t mean everything is wrong, it just means we haven’t capitalised on opportunities.
“This has been a setback, but we must press on again and look to improve.”
And Kenny has no intention of abandoning his attacking principles of play in the wake of those defeats.
“There is a difference between tactics and style of play. And the style of play won’t change - we are committed to that regardless,” he added.
“Tactically we always have to adapt. That is a different question.
“We have fresh legs and we have other players who are willing to come in and make their mark. We want that freshness to come into the team and give us energy.
"We want to be better. We know that Scotland are a formidable team when they get everyone out.
“We know that they are a strong side and we are going to have to be at our best.”
Kenny doubts that today’s derby clash will be a ‘blood and thunder’ affair.
The sides meet for the 12th time in their history, with four victories apiece and three draws.
The last meeting was a 1-1 Euro 2016 qualifying draw in Dublin under Martin O’Neill in 2015, with Ireland losing 1-0 at Celtic Park seven months before it.
But Kenny feels that internationals against near neighbours have become more a game of chess than an old school ‘up and at ‘em’ derby.
“I'm not sure in international football that there is much blood and thunder,” he said yesterday.
“At times it is very tactical now, but there will obviously be a physical element.”
The Scots are licking their wounds after losing their World Cup playoff semi-final to Ukraine, but responded with a 2-0 Nations League win over Armenia on Wednesday.
And Kenny continued: “They played well. To be fair, we were unbeaten in eight before last week and they were also unbeaten in eight.
“They probably had more significant wins than we've had and have been together longer and qualified for the European Championships.
“They also have a lot of players playing at the top end of the Premier League and have a very experienced squad. But from our point of view, that doesn't matter.
“We have a full house, this is our home, the Aviva Stadium, and we want to perform and play to the best of our ability and give them something to be proud of.”
Meanwhile, Kenny was quizzed about his time managing in Scotland with Dunfermline between 2006 and 2007.
The Pars were relegated from the SPL but also reached a Scottish Cup final where they lost 1-0 to Celtic.
“When I took the job I was 34 years of age,” he said. “I was only there a week and we were 10 points at the bottom. I took it on the basis of being five points at the bottom.
“I think Dundee United won two games under Craig Levein at the time.
“But we beat Rangers, Hearts, Hibs, and Patrick Thistle. We took on all of Edinburgh and Glasgow to get to the final and lost a narrow game to Celtic.
“I made mistakes. I definitely did. I learned a lot. That was part of my learning as a manager and it was a good experience.”
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